My surgery with Dr. Illan in Mexico

[myingling1991 7]

I am so glad I chose Dr. Illan with Baja Bariatrics for my surgeon. The entire experience has been WAY beyond my expectations. I'm down 70 lbs and living life now. I'm 22yrs old and never dreamed what is was to feel this good. Can you imagine what middle and high is like when you are obese? It's not pretty or fun! I wish I could have done this at a younger age but I will take it now. My goal is to be at 175lbs but truly am feeling amazing now. Started out 305 and now 235 Please don't hesitate to check him out because you won't find a better surgeon and team. They are with you from the time you get there until you leave. Best experience of my life and I owe them a huge thank you for saving my life. Here's a before and i"ll be posting progress pics along the way. 

[1Day1Life4Now 882]

You're already a beautiful girl, I can't wait to see your progress pictures. Congratulations on your new healthy life.

[Tiff 93]

Thank you for sharing your progress! You are doing great! I also had surgery with Dr. Illan and loved the whole team. I am five weeks post op and down 28 pounds! Great experience for sure.

[JJinOregon 8]

I am scheduled for the 24th of May. Iam very excited to have Dr. Illan has my surgeon. I have done a lot of research, and was orginally going to go with a different surgeon who had more name recognition, but decided after more research to change. I think picking any surgeon comes down to research, and a leap of faith. You can do all the digging and what not, and you will always find good and bad. You just do your best to minimize the risk involved. I mean, how much do you really know about the doctor at your local clinic or hospital? You could safely argue that more is documented about the docotrs south of the boarder than locally. The forums are a mixed bag, you have a lot of people saying go with the doc or go with that doc, but a lot of it is marketing, just have to see through the smoke and mirrors.

I have my date, got my plane tickets, ready to roll. Gotta have faith, keep my fingers crossed, and it will all work out in the end.

[bluesclues 49]

I am scheduled for the 24th of May. Iam very excited to have Dr. Illan has my surgeon. I have done a lot of research, and was orginally going to go with a different surgeon who had more name recognition, but decided after more research to change. I think picking any surgeon comes down to research, and a leap of faith. You can do all the digging and what not, and you will always find good and bad. You just do your best to minimize the risk involved. I mean, how much do you really know about the doctor at your local clinic or hospital? You could safely argue that more is documented about the docotrs south of the boarder than locally. The forums are a mixed bag, you have a lot of people saying go with the doc or go with that doc, but a lot of it is marketing, just have to see through the smoke and mirrors.

I have my date, got my plane tickets, ready to roll. Gotta have faith, keep my fingers crossed, and it will all work out in the end.

How did it go? Updates? I'm looking into Dr. Illan as well and would love any feedback

[JJinOregon 8]

I am one week post op and all seems to be going great. So far no complications or anything. Just getting use to all the new feelings and sounds my body is now making.

As far as my experience in Mexico. It was what I expected it to be. I was there for surgery not a vacation. The surgeon is great, personable, speaks English and so far seems very talented. Time will tell on the results. His staff was professional and the care I received would be what I would consider on par with what I would of relieved in the US.

The "hospital" was alright. It got the job done. It is no 5 star hotel. But it seemed very clean and had what it needed. You do get to see the hospital Angeles for your leak test. In hindsight given the option I would of paid more to have the surgery there. I did not find there to be a language barrier anywhere I went. The "hospital" is a busy place. They are busy with from what I saw 8 surgeries a day or more.

Omar the coordinator did a good job of providing some sightseeing and transportation. He provides your medications and some limited post op information. I found much more detailed information and diet plans online that I plan to follow. He is juggling multiple patients at a time so he is a busy guy.

Would I do it again? Not sure at this point. Ask me again in six months. It is truly crazy going to Mexico to have major surgery. But I did as much research as I could and just did it. It was a calculated gamble. But I would if gone through the same due diligence had I had the surgery locally.

[Travelmego 235]

Thank you for these updates. Dr. Illan is one of the surgeons I am considering. I wish I could find a video of him doing surgery online but haven't so far.

@JJinOregon do you know how many surgeries a day Dr. Illan does, by any chance? Which hospital were you in..Mi?

Edited June 1, 2014 by Travelmego

[JJinOregon 8]

From what I saw he does 2-3 a day.

I was at the florence Hospital, also know as the "oasis of hope".

I never looked for a video of him performing surgery. From what I saw most surgeons do the same exact procedure. And a video is just a image of one such surgery and you know they are doing it up for the camera.

What ultimately made me decide was a large group of his former and future patients have a private Facebook group. There people share there own experiences. I found this to be reassuring as the forums here seem like a running advertisement for this for or that. The more time I spent on here the more confused I got.

Hope that helps.

[Travelmego 235]

I have decided to go with Dr. Illan- on August 8, 2014.

[rhw94123 115]

Congrats! BTW, I wanted to chime in that my impression is that he does 0-3 surgeries a day &/ or 4-8 per week most weeks.

[sherry24184 253]

She is now currently 219 lbs! She is doing amazing with her sleeve. I'll try to get her to come on and post some pictures

[sherry24184 253]

[sherry24184 253]